Questions tagged [impact]
Questions regarding the collision of one thing with another
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Is the SpaceX Falcon Heavy payload (a Tesla car) space junk?
Yesterday SpaceX succeeded in the first Falcon Heavy launch, but the payload, a Tesla car has no real useful purpose (except for company prestige).
Thus, can it be considered as space junk ? How long ...
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A starship is traveling at 0.9c and collides with a small rock. Will it leave a clean hole through, or will more happen?
Say there is a football sized rock in the path of the ship. Will it create a football sized hole through the ship in the blink of an eye, or will more happen? The ship would be filled with metal, ...
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Does NASA have an end-of-the-world policy?
If an asteroid were detected, shooting towards earth with enough speed and certainty that it would all but guarantee a sequel of the end of the dinosaurs. Observatories and space agencies would almost ...
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Why are there mountains/mounds in the centre of craters on the lunar surface?
From clear images of moon's surface we can see many of the craters have small mountains/mounds (or montes) in the centre. So, what is the mechanism behind the formation of these mountains and which ...
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BBC: "A rocket launched by Elon Musk's space exploration company is on course to crash into the Moon and explode." Will it really explode?
The line following the title of BBC's Elon Musk SpaceX rocket on collision course with moon reads:
A rocket launched by Elon Musk's space exploration company is on course to crash into the Moon and ...
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How did two satellites end up in almost the same orbit except moving in opposite directions?
In a series of four tweets starting with this one (found in 2 satellites will narrowly avoid colliding at 32,800 mph over Pittsburgh on Wednesday)
1/ We are monitoring a close approach event ...
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What is the probability of impact?
Space Track is a website dedicated to passing along information about satellites to consumers, primarily satellite operators. The information comes from the US military. In addition to providing the ...
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If a Voyager crashes into something, would we know?
A recent question asked about the feasibility of using Voyager 2 to detect objects in the Oort cloud. The answers indicate, among other issues, the instruments on-board the Voyagers would likely be ...
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Aren't the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope too unprotected?
I've looked at the design of the James Webb Space Telescope and I got curious about something, some years ago, it seems that the international space station was hit by micro-meteorites. I'm wondering ...
Igäria Mnagarka
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Can a nuclear detonation on Moon destroy life on Earth?
If a nuclear weapon is detonated on the moon it would launch debris into space. The debris would then fall to earth like asteroids.
Would this impact wipe out life on Earth? In other words, are our ...
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Would the one million people on Mars be killed by an impact equivalent to an Extinction Level Event on Earth
If there are cities on Mars in the second half of this century with say a million people, they will be living in engineered structures and sustained by agriculture in protected, controlled ...
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How many satellites can stay in a Lagrange point?
Lagrange points as I understand it are points in space between 2 objects where the gravitational pull between them is effectively equal. That makes station keeping at these points relatively easy.
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How likely is it that the Voyager spacecrafts haven't yet been damaged by micrometeoroids?
Both Voyagers have been traveling at over $60,000$ km/h for well over four decades and still seem to function properly, taking into account the slowly dropping power and warmth available from their ...
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How frequently do asteroids collide with each other?
Space is empty ... lots of empty. Apparently so empty that the risk of collision between a spacecraft of our times, and an asteroid in the asteroid belt is said to be infinitesimal.
Running a search ...
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What would happen if an Earth-sized body encountered Jupiter?
As we all know Jupiter is a gaseous planet so what would happen if an Earth-sized object happened to encounter Jupiter?
Would Jupiter engulf the object and make it stay at Jupiter's core?
Would the ...
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